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It's been a 15-hour day for me, so this entry will be brief! I went ahead of our group this morning to meet with a librarian, Cecilia, at Haifa University. She gave me a tour of the building and we exchanged comparisons and similarities between our library programs. Haifa's library uses the Ex Libris library system, just as we do at Richmond. They are also involved in digitizing several historical collections in northern Israel.
We had two lectures this morning and I was particularly impressed with Dr. Ayman Agabaria who spoke on Arab education in Israel. We learned that the Arab-Palestinian community represents 18 percent of Israel's population and they operate under a separate school system for Muslims, Druze and Christians. There are many disparities between the Arab schools and those for secular and religious Jews, not unlike our past and current challenges in the United States with providing equal education.
Our afternoon bus excursion took us to Nazareth, the Sea of Galilee and Zippori National Park, along with our well-informed guide, Yrsael Neeman, a professor at Haifa. In Nazareth, we visited the Annunciation Church and learned about a recent tension between Muslims and Christians regarding the establishment of a mosque beside the church. However, this conflict was resolved eventually by representatives of all faiths (Jews, Christians, Muslims) by locating another space for the mosque and taking the space next to the church for an outdoor mosque. We have been fortunate with perfect weather throughout our trip and today was no exception. The views and scenery of the Sea of Galilee and surrounding mountains were inspiring.
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